San Bernardino County drops mortgage seizure plan

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities in San Bernardino County have abandoned a plan to stabilize the housing market by seizing troubled mortgages.

The San Bernardino Sun (http://bit.ly/VyikNK ) says a joint powers authority took the idea off the table Thursday. The agency voted to seek other proposals for dealing with a housing crash that's left 150,000 county residents owing more than their homes are worth.

A San Francisco investment firm, Mortgage Resolution Partners, had suggested that the county exercise eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. The loans would have been modified to allow people to remain in their homes and then sold off.

Greg Devereaux, CEO of the Homeownership Protection Program, says the idea was risky and there was no community support for it.